Does the Queen disapprove of same-sex marriage?

Contrary to what was previously believed, it’s been claimed that Queen Elizabeth II was not in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in the UK.

According to The Daily Mail, a “friend” of the queen has revealed that while she supported civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples, marriage equality was a bridge too far for her.

The monarch, says the newspaper, believes that based on her Christian faith marriage is only possible between a man and a woman.

The Queen, who turns 90 next month, signed the legislation to legalise same-sex marriage in 2013 but had no choice and would have been powerless to intervene if she opposed it.

“I can only advise and warn,” the Queen apparently told the friend.

The news conflicts with a claim by British comedian and writer Stephen Fry, who said in 2015 that he had heard that she thought same-sex marriage was “wonderful”.

The Queen has never publicly spoken about the issue, and is unlikely to do so, but there have now been moves in royal circles to refute the latest claims.

A senior palace courtier told The Daily Beast that the story was “spurious and unsubstantiated” and that it was “unlikely that one of her friends would pass on her thoughts to The Mail.”